Fire Demon
Fire Demons are choleric Pit Demons with the elemental property of fire. They are often depicted wielding a flaming sword and a whip. - 116*; - 169*; - 107*; - 302* Fire Demons are described as horned, red-skinned humanoids wreathed in flame with cloven hooves at the ends of their legs and leathery wings upon their backs. - 117 However, it is worth noting that Demons can, if they desire, vary the physical forms they assume. The Nature of Fire Demons Despite being irascible and impulsive, and generally possessing a violent temperament, Fire Demons are actually highly intelligent. Their role is well suited to their nature, as the creatures are often despatched to act as shock troops and commanders to lead Chaotic forces on the earthly plane. Nevertheless, the Demon's underlings would be well-advised not to test its patience, since Fire Demons have been known to massacre their own minions on occasion. Mercifully, Fire Demons can potentially take days to fully manifest in the physical plane. - 357 Moreover, they can, despite their splenetic nature, be summoned and controlled by sorcerers and demonologists. - 242 , p. 44 Significance of Fire Demons While each demon type is unique, Fire Demons have an added distinction of being the only type of Demon listed in Titan - The Fighting Fantasy World to come in both greater (Secundus) and lesser (Tertius) forms. - p.163 They are also listed in the Out of the Pit bestiary, although the entry there is only that of a lesser Fire Demon. - p.116-117 While unique, Fire Demons are certainly not rare, relative to other Demons - Out of the Pit describes them as the most common, and indeed they are the most frequently encountered type of Demon in the original Puffin range of Fighting Fantasy gamebooks. They are also the very first type of Demon to be encountered within a gamebook, making their début in the third title of the Puffin range, The Forest of Doom. - 107 Special Rules There are two special rules used throughout the gamebooks in connection with fighting Fire Demons. Both rules have been inconsistently applied throughout the Fighting Fantasy series. One concerns additional damage that the Demon metes out, while the other concerns actually harming the creature itself. Often a Fire Demon can only be harmed by a magical weapon - the Fire Demons encountered in Master of Chaos and Tower of Destruction are examples of this. - 145; - 375 However, this vulnerability is often omitted - the Out of the Pit bestiary makes no mention of it and it is absent from the encounter with the creature in The Forest of Doom. The second special rule is the additional damage the Demon inflicts. The first encounter with a Fire Demon contains the rule that every attack round 1d6 must be rolled - on a roll of 1 or 2 the Demon's whip inflicts 1 stamina point of damage on the player (the text also specifically mentions that luck could be used against this). This rule is listed in Out of the Pit, but appears to be absent completely from the Fire Demon encounters in Fangs of Fury and is altered in the Fire Demon combats in Tower of Destruction and Master of Chaos. In the former, it is a d6 roll of 1 to 4 that inflicts a stamina point of damage, resulting from the fiery exhalation of the Demon's nostrils, while in the latter a d6 roll of 1 to 4 will actually inflict 2 stamina points of damage on the player. - 375; - 302 Further Notes *The Fire Demon in The Forest of Doom wore a controlling crown on its head, used to command subservient clones nearby. If the player donned the crown after defeating the Demon he would bizarrely find himself transforming into a Fire Demon. - 333 *''Out of the Pit'' lists the number of Fire Demons encountered in any one combat as "1", but there are encounters with multiple Fire Demons in Fangs of Fury. - 290 However, the Fire Demons found in Fangs of Fury seem to be notably less powerful than those typically found in other gamebooks. *Fire Demons are often used as leaders and champions for armies serving the forces of Evil. See Also References